Cremation Jewelry
Your loved one will undoubtedly hold a special place in your heart. Now you can keep a part of them close to you forever by storing his or her cremains in a keepsake necklace.  The designs come in many styles and range from understated to ornate and from masculine to feminine. Photo lockets with ash compartments are just one way of commemorating the person that touched your life. You can even pay special tribute to a lost member of the armed forces by getting a military dog tag-style ash and photo locket. With all of the choices available, there’s sure to be a piece that suits your style and price point.

Holiday Keepsakes
The holidays can feel less than celebratory when missing a loved one. Even if that person is no longer a part of the living, he or she can still be part of the holiday season by being specially commemorated with a holiday ornament. One artistic option is a blown glass globe with colors and cremains infused into the ornament. The results are spectacular. Another option is a classic angel with a special ash compartment. Both options help keep the memory of a loved one alive and a special part of the holiday season.

Home Décor Urns
Losing a loved one is like losing part of your everyday life. Now there’s a way to give that person a special place in your home through a truly special home décor item such as a clock, hourglass, music box, candle keepsake, American Indian dream catcher, or hurricane lamp. These items offer a unique compartment for the storage of ashes, and can serve as distinct memorials for those who are no longer with us.

There are so many ways that you can keep your loved one’s memory alive throughout your life. Imaginative ways of storing ashes is a wonderful way to reflect how much that person meant to you. It signifies a deep expression of your eternal love for the departed. Give your loved one the chance to remain an integral part of your life, and their spirit will live on through your fond memories.

Typically, cremation funerals can save thousands compared to traditional burial services.  During increasingly challenging economic times, families are choosing to have cremation funerals to save money, and prevent going further into dept paying for expensive plots, headstones and caskets after losing a loved one. The death of a family member is one of life’s most difficult experiences, and a financial hardship should not add to an already stressful time.
The costs savings of a cremation funeral doesn’t make it a less special way to honor a loved one. Cremation urns are just the final resting place of the deceased. A beautiful memorial service of any kind can still be held, as friends and family gather to tribute to the departed.

Discount Cremation Urns
Cremation urns come in a vast selection of styles and price points. There are many beautifully designed cremation funeral urns at very affordable prices, some even under $100. Discount cremation urns can be found to meet any cremation funeral budget, while making a tasteful impression. A cremation urns with a price tag of hundreds or even thousands of dollars isn’t necessary in order to properly pay your loved one the respect and honor they deserve. Money does not equate love nor create memories.

Type of Cremation Funeral
The type of service you plan to have, and what you will do with the cremation urn all contribute to the kind of urn you will need. Here are a few questions to consider when determining the type of cremation urn you will need, which will affect your budget.:

• Will the cremation urn be displayed at a memorial service?
• Are the ashes to be scattered?
• Will it be displayed in someone’s home?
• Are there several family members sharing the cremains?

Urns used for temporary storage of ashes cost much less than those urn prices vary greatly, and often indistinguishable in price. Don’t think that you have to spend a fortune for a quality urn. The sentiments offered for your loved one to honor and preserve their memory will always remain the same.

Seek a sympathetic ear
While having room to deal with your emotions in solitude can be a comforting experience, it is important to open the air for expression with a trusted listener. Talk about your feelings of grief with someone who is sympathetic to your loss. Chances are that you’re not the only one who is saddened by the loss of someone special. Sometimes you just need a good shoulder to cry on, or someone to listen as your talk through your feelings.

Grieve in your own way
There are many places that people turn when they are experiencing a loss. While it can be comforting to many to express feelings to family or friends, others seek outside attention. Some turn to religion to soothe emotional pains and to gain reassurance. Others consult the assistance of a therapist to help through the range of emotions that follow a deep loss. Another option is to join a support group for people in mourning. No matter where you find the most comfort, it is important that you are doing this for you. After all, no one knows you quite like you know yourself.

It is ok to cry
Contrary to popular belief, “staying strong” during a crisis is not very beneficial to anyone. When you repress your emotions, you are not allowing the chance to mourn in a healthy way.  Bottling up emotions can be very unhealthy. Plus, holding back emotions can cause confusion to impressionable young children and adolescents. If a child sees that his or her parent is not crying over the loss of a loved one, the child might feel that expressing him or herself in any other way is inappropriate. There’s truly no shame in a good cry, and it’s a huge stress relief.

Don’t expect a timeline
As much as it is human nature to wish for control in one’s life, a roadmap to recovery from a loss is a myth. However, this is not something to be discouraged about. Instead, look at it from the angle of there is no timeline or guide pressuring the right actions for grief. No one grieves in the exact same way, or during the same length of time. Seek solace in the fact that you can take your time to grieve in your own way. It may take a month. It may take a year. It may not be something that ever goes completely away. It’s your call to decide when you have grieved enough. No one else can make that decision for you.

Grief is an amorphous creature. It takes a different form in everyone who is stricken with it. That’s why it’s important to realize that grief is a process that is completely unique to each person who experiences it. They say that time heals all wounds, and grief is no exception. Learn more about grief on our mobile app. Given time, reflection, communication and healthy expression, it is possible to move on from even the deepest loss. Thank you for reading.

It is extremely difficult to lose a loved one, but cremation keepsakes allow you preserve their memory and keep their presence with you in a very special and personal way. Cremation keepsakes come in a variety of forms from jewelry to home décor and even pens. These types of cremation keepsakes hold ashes, locks of hair, dried flowers or other personal, sentimental items. Here are a few unique and customizable forms of cremation keepsakes that help maintain the memory of a loved one in a very special and deeply personal way.

Jewelry
Keepsake jewelry can be filled with a loved one’s ashes to always keep them close to your heart. Rings, lockets, and customized pieces in the shape of a cross, angel or even rosary beats create a very personal memorial that can be with you all the time.  A cremation keepsake in the form of jewelry is one of the most intimate sentiments you can create.

Home Décor
The memory of your loved one can be kept alive with a cremation keepsake such as a candle, clock, hourglass, or figurine of an angel or other spiritual symbol. These types of cremation keepsakes don’t look like traditional urns and create a final resting place that might be only known to you or other close family and friends.

Teddy Bears
The comforting hug of a teddy bear can span all ages.  Especially for children, dealing with the loss of a parent, grandparent or sibling can be very upsetting and quite confusing. Most children already love stuffed animals and look to them for comfort and security, especially during difficult times. Teddy bear keepsake urns create very special friends for children when they’re feeling sad and miss someone they love.

Accessories
Cremation keepsakes come in many forms now including personal accessories like key chains and pens. These create very subtle yet intimate reminders of a loved one that can be used in daily life, but only known to the user. Each of these small cremation keepsakes can hold a small portion of cremains, a lock of hair, crushed flowers or other sentimental memento. The key chain gives you the feeling that your loved one is with you always, as you open the door to your home or drive in the car; while the pen can inspire heartfelt wishes writing notes and letters, or even writing checks to charities in the person’s name.

A death can be hard to think about, and likewise, funeral planning can be difficult and emotionally draining. Our new Funeral Advice mobile application is designed to make the process much easier and less taxing for family members.

The Funeral Advice app is an easy to use funeral guide designed specifically for the iPhone and Android systems which draws on the experience of funeral professionals for an easy way to learn everything necessary when preparing for a funeral. It’s the first guide of its kind for the Android and iPhone operating systems and a private way to learn about the funeral process or to look for a fitting memorial for a loved one.

All The Right Information At Your Fingertips

Many people want to plan a funeral correctly, but they want to learn the steps to take and the right way to check all of the associated costs from an impartial source. The Funeral Advice app is written with these people in mind.

It provides general information about funeral homes and different burial or cremation options, including costs and necessary funeral procedures that families can expect. Knowing about the funeral planning process in advance is the best way to be prepared, and by offering a simple way to find out info about funerals, the app allows family members to learn at their convenience.

The app also provides advice about the grieving process, steps to take to help family members through a very difficult time, and even suggestions about what to say and how to help different types of people process a death in a healthy way.

The information in the app comes from funeral professionals with years of experience and is designed to provide comfort and relief with a knowledge and experience based approach to the funeral process.

A Simple Way To Find The Right Memorial

The Funeral Advice app also provides a simple, private way to look for a casket or a cremation urn through our online catalog.

Choosing a memorial can be one of the most difficult parts of arranging a funeral, as most families will want a unique memorial to pay tribute to their loved ones, but it can be difficult to pick a truly unique casket or cremation urn without the proper amount of time. The Funeral Advice app makes it easy to find the right memorial without any rush or pressure to make a selection.

The app also guides users through different options for materials, engraving, and inscriptions to offer a customized experience.

An Easier And More Comfortable Way To Plan The Funeral Process

By providing a list of necessary steps to take and tools that allow for knowledgeable funeral preparation, the Funeral Advice app offers smart phone users all of the information that they need to handle a funeral, from choosing an urn to comforting loved ones.

The app is provided free of charge and doesn’t take up much space on your phone. It’s a great set of tools for anyone trying to find a unique urn or casket or anyone who’s ever had questions while planning a funeral.

Funeral Advice is available from the Android and Apple application stores and can be quickly downloaded and installed.

“Preneed” is a term used to express the need for pre-planning your own funeral by means of prearranging and prefunding. Pre-planning your own funeral is important because it can alleviate the burden on your family of making important financial decisions during a time of great stress. It can also give you peace of mind because you know your arrangements are ready. It can also help you control the cost of the funeral and preserve it from inflation.  There are a few steps to get the process started.

Get in contact with a local funeral director. Talk about different options. If a cremation funeral is what you want, there are factors to discuss:

•    a viewing before the cremation
•    the actual cremation
•    urn choices
•    obituary
•    the will
•    budget

The Funeral Rule, enforced by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), requires funeral directors to give you itemized prices in person and, if you ask, over the phone. It’s often beneficial for someone else go with you while making sensitive and important decisions. Your friend or family member might hear that you didn’t, or ask questions that you may not have thought about.

Something else that most people don’t realize, it is not legally required to use a funeral home to plan or conduct a funeral.  Beyond funeral homes, the FTC suggests that arrangements can be made with a memorial society, which is a nonprofit organization providing information about funerals and disposition, but not offering actual funeral services; or directly with a crematorium.

Within the realm of pre-planning, pre-paying or funeral financing is also an option. Not everyone is financially ready to pay for the future funeral when making arrangements. Just bear in mind that prices fluctuate over time and businesses may unexpectedly close or change ownership. So, it is wise to re-examine your decision every few years.

Pre-planning your own or a loved one’s inevitable death is an extraordinarily sensitive and stressful experience.  As difficult as it may be, it will give those who cared for you the ability to grieve and the relief not to endure the financial burdens during a death. Information about funerals is very important to In the Light Urns and we produce a great deal of helpful advice after losing a loved one.